Posts by Obama 2013

President Donald J. Trump has invited several guests to attend tonight's address to a Joint Session of Congress. These special guests will be seated with First Lady Melania Trump in the Executive Gallery of the House Chamber. Watch the Joint Address live at 9 p.m. ET at WhiteHouse.gov.
John Crowley & Megan Crowley
At 15 months old, Megan was diagnosed with Pompe disease and not expected to live more than a few short years. To look for a cure, her father, John Crowley, founded a biotechnology company that identified the treatment that halts the progression of Pompe...

President Donald J. Trump will be delivering his first address to a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. Be sure to tune in as the President will be sharing his vision for the country.
When: Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at 9 p.m.
Where: The United States Capitol in the House Chamber, also known as the “Hall of the House of Representatives.”
Who: The President will address Members of both the House of Representatives and Senate in his first address to a Joint Session of Congress.
The Speech: President Trump...

After one month in office, President Donald J. Trump is already achieving results for the American people.
Jump starting Job Creation: President Trump is looking out for American workers that Washington has left behind.
Signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering the United States to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and agreement
Hosted the CEO of Intel to announce Intel’s plan to invest $7 billion in a United States factory that will create 10,000 American jobs
Signed a Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL...

Today, President Donald J. Trump signed House Joint Resolution 38 to stop the costly Stream Protection Rule from further harming coal workers and the communities that depend on them. H.J.Res. 38 blocks an overly burdensome regulation that threatened the coal industry with millions of dollars in compliance costs, reduced coal production, and fewer jobs.
Since 2009, the coal industry has declined, leaving workers and communities without a lifeline. Over 36,000 jobs have been lost without any relief in sight. From 2009 to 2015, American coal production has declined by over 177,000,000 tons,...

President Trump promised to make women’s empowerment a priority. Earlier this week, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau took the first steps toward making that a reality by creating the United States-Canada Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders.
“In order to create economic growth and lots of very good, well-paying jobs, we must ensure that our economy is a place where women can work and thrive.”
President Trump wants to pave the way for women to bring their unique perspectives and strengths to the business world, and to...

Former Law Clerks Herald Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch’s Independence
​USA Today
By Richard Wolf
One thing you can say about Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch: He inspires loyalty among his former law clerks, no matter their politics.
Every one of them who worked for Gorsuch since he became a judge in 2006 — with the exception of two now clerking at the Supreme Court — signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday heralding his independence that “will never waver.”
…
In their letter, the former law clerks stressed Gorsuch’s strict adherence...

The American free enterprise system is the greatest engine for economic success in the world, and this week President Donald J. Trump is taking more steps to roll back the burdensome, Obama-era regulations that are crippling our businesses.
Today, President Trump signed legislation (House Joint Resolution 41) eliminating a burdensome regulation that threatened to put domestic extraction companies and their employees at an unfair disadvantage. By halting this regulation, the President has removed a costly impediment to American extraction companies helping their workers...

Friends,
Today, I cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos.
The vote the President asked me to cast wasn’t just for Betsy – it was also for America’s future.
Our nation’s success depends on the education of our students. In Betsy DeVos, we have one of America’s foremost advocates for educational opportunity and excellence.
For nearly three decades she has devoted her time, her talent, and her treasure to ensure that every child in America has the best shot at a better life. Countless...

One of the greatest Presidents in U.S. history was born on February 6, 1911. Today we honor the legacy and remember the man who served as our 40th President, Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan inspired a generation to believe in America once again and build a better future for their country. Below is his second inaugural address to the Nation.
Original Article Source...

On our last, full day here at the White House, here is the Obama Administration's 388th — and final — episode of our weekly round-up video, West Wing Week. For 388 weeks in a row, we have produced a zippy, zingy wrap-up of everything the President's been up to that week, and it has been such fun doing so. Thanks for tuning in, and all the best, from all of us to all of you.
Original Article Source >>

Today, the President granted commutation to 330 individuals. The President has now granted commutation to a total of 1,715 individuals, including 568 people who had been sentenced to life in prison. The vast majority of these men and women are serving unduly long sentences for drug crimes. With today’s action, the President has granted more commutations than any president in this nation’s history and has surpassed the number of commutations granted by the past 13 presidents combined. The President set out to reinvigorate clemency, and he has done just that.
In 2014, the President...

Editor's note: President Obama sent this final message to the White House email list this morning.
My fellow Americans,
It's a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the American elected to take his or her place. It's a letter meant to share what we know, what we've learned, and what small wisdom may help our successor bear the great responsibility that comes with the highest office in our land, and the leadership of the free world.
But before I leave my note for our 45th...

Over the past eight years, the President, the First Lady, and the Obama White House have used social media and technology to engage with people around the country and the world on the most important issues of our time. From the very beginning, our mission has been to reach people on the channels and platforms where they already spend their time. This work began before President Obama took office in 2009, and, now, this work will continue.
As this Administration draws to a close, we wanted to share how you can continue to follow and engage with President Obama, the First Lady, and...

Today, 273 individuals learned that the President has given them a second chance. With today’s 209 grants of commutation, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,385 individuals – the most grants of commutation issued by any President in this nation’s history. President Obama’s 1,385 commutation grants – which includes 504 life sentences – is also more than the total number of commutations issued by the past 12 presidents combined. And with today’s 64 pardons, the President has now granted a total of 212 pardons.
Today, 209 commutation recipients – including 109...

This week, President Obama delivered his final weekly address thanking the American people for making him a better President and a better man. Over the past eight years, we have seen the goodness, resilience, and hope of the American people. We’ve seen what’s possible when we come together in the hard, but vital work of self-government – but we can’t take our democracy for granted. Our success as a Nation depends on our participation. It’s up to all of us to be guardians of our democracy, and to embrace the task of continually trying to improve our Nation. Despite our differences,...

At the White House FinTech Summit in June 2016, Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials from across the Administration engaged with stakeholders about the potential for fintech to further myriad policy goals, including small business access to capital, financial inclusion and health, domestic growth, and international development. At the same event, industry and other stakeholders conveyed the need for a framework that articulates the U.S. government’s perspective on fintech. Today, after sustained stakeholder engagement, we are proud to publish a whitepaper, A Framework for...

It rests on the land chosen by a revolutionary. It was designed by an Irish immigrant, it was built by slaves, and it has been home to every president since John and Abigail Adams first came through its doors. It is the White House, the People’s House, and it belongs to all who call this country home.
So today, in a collaboration with Oculus and Felix & Paul Studios, the President and First Lady are using virtual reality to bring the history of the White House directly to you. Narrated by the President, “the People’s House” offers an intimate, 360-degree exploration of rooms...

The final open enrollment period of this Administration started on November 1, and since then, more than 11.5 million people nationwide have signed up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. As part of our Administration’s ongoing efforts to reach the remaining uninsured, the White House launched the Healthy Campus Challenge in September, hoping to engage college and university campuses in enrollment efforts. Campuses opted in by agreeing to undertake a series of best practices, like emailing all students and faculty with information about open enrollment,...

As the President wrote this week in the journal Science, the last eight years demonstrate that carbon emissions can decline while the economy is growing. This is in contrast to centuries old reality that increased economic output entailed increased carbon emissions. Emissions did, in fact, drop during the Great Recession. But due to trends in the energy system and policies pursued by President Obama, carbon pollution has continued to fall while our economy has recovered from that shock. From 2008-2015, U.S. CO2 emissions from the energy sector fell by 9.5 percent while the economy grew...

Vice President Joe Biden sent the following message to the White House email list.
Over the past eight years, I’ve been proud to stand by President Obama's side through every step of this journey.
And tonight, I'll be proud to stand by him one last time in Chicago with the First Lady and with Jill as he makes his farewell address to the nation.
Heading back to Chicago, I can’t help thinking about that night when the four of us were together in Grant Park. November 4, 2008.
We’d received the call conceding the race from our friend and patriot, John McCain. Barack had...

On Friday, January 6, the Obama Administration released the second installment of the interagency Quadrennial Energy Review (QER 1.2), “Transforming the Nation’s Electricity System”. The new report focuses on the Nation’s electricity system, from electricity generation to end uses, and addresses the need for improvements in that system. Today, January 9, is the third anniversary of the Presidential Memorandum that initiated the QER. Since that time, the QER team has produced two landmark installments and made a significant impact on energy policy.
This second installment of...

This financial crisis was not inevitable. It happened when Wall Street wrongly presumed markets would continuously rise, and traded in complex financial products without fully evaluating their risks. Here in Washington, our regulations lagged behind changes in our markets — and too often, regulators failed to use the authority that they had to protect consumers, markets and the economy.
President Obama — February 25, 2009
When President Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency in Springfield, Illinois on February 10, 2007, he committed to...

This morning, First Lady Michelle Obama sent the following message to the White House email list, asking Americans to tune in to President Obama's Farewell Address tomorrow at 9:00pm ET/ 8:00pm CT.
Chicago is where I grew up. It’s where I met my husband. It’s where we started our family and where we began our journey to becoming your First Family, which has been the honor of our lifetimes. And tomorrow, I’m going back to Chicago to watch Barack deliver his farewell address to you.
I hope you’ll join me, because as Barack has said, these eight years have always been...

In this week’s address, President Obama discussed his upcoming farewell address to the nation. In 1796, as George Washington set the precedent for a peaceful, democratic transfer of power, he also set a precedent by penning a farewell address to the American people. And over the 220 years since, many American presidents have followed his lead. Next week, the President will return to his hometown of Chicago to say a grateful farewell to the nation. This will mark the first time that a President has returned to his hometown to deliver such a speech. The President has said that the running...

This is just one story of the millions of Americans whose lives have been changed by the Affordable Care Act. This kind of change has been a long time in the making.
After nearly 100 years of talk, and decades of trying, President Obama finally made affordable, quality health care for all a reality for America. Today, 20 million more adults have health insurance. Three million additional children have health insurance than in 2008. America's uninsured rate now stands at its lowest level ever. One hundred and five million Americans no longer have lifetime limits on their coverage...

Obama’s Thoughts

America has never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. That's the principle we were founded on.